It had been a whole week before she saw the Graverobber again and this time, this time she was ready for him. He arrived at her door with his back turned and his knees bent, she could only imagine what he was scanning for. He didn't even turn around when she allowed him in, slipping inside with a quick step backwards and sealing the door with finality. Both hands still flat against the grain, he took a breath. It was the most human gesture she had ever seen him make.

Only a heartbeat later and she was the mark of his brutally dazzling grin. "Shilo." Since their last meeting she had spent no small amount of time trying to come up with something better than her name on his tongue. She had come up empty.

"You're back." She croaked and winced at the sound.

He didn't seem to notice. The Graverobber pushed away from the door, his booted feet sliding him further inside. Shilo watched him closely, captivated and fascinated by his very presence. "I am. I..." He frowned then and she was keenly interested on what could possibly have caught his tongue.

"You?" She prompted. "Need a place to stay for a while?"

"Hide." He corrected, his expression a strange mixture of relief and anxiety.

Shilo smiled brightly. "Of course."

"Great!"

"We just need to discuss some things first."

He had been in mid-step, heading most likely to the kitchen. Her interruption startled him and he stumbled. It took most of her good sense to not laugh. She didn't think he would get angry but then, she didn't know him very well yet now did she. He was a Zydrate dealer, a criminal, everything her father had every warned her about. She smiled shyly. He was wonderful. He excited her in a way she didn't fully understand. He made her skin flush and her stomach knot.

"Discuss? What do we need to discuss?"

Right. His voice, dear lord, his voice reminded her that she had been in the middle of something. She had a mission. She had been working on it since he left the last time. The first time. She had only been able to hope he would come back and now that he was here, she had to seize her chance! Clearing her throat purposefully, she sorted out her thoughts. "As I see it, this is a business arrangement. Isn't it?"

"It is?"

"Aren't you using me as a safe house?" She frowned. "I mean. Using my house, as a safe house."

He smiled, his brow arching. "I suppose I am."

"I should get something out of that. Shouldn't I?"

He shrugged and shook with a laugh. "Are you asking me?"

"No..." She frowned. "I should."

"Alright." He conceded. "So I am the buyer here."

Shilo nodded stiffly.

"And you are selling...? What exactly. Just to be clear."

"You can come and go as you need. Shelter, food and safety." She rattled off and suddenly he imagined her practicing this. Had she planned this? The idea made him smile.

"Certainly appealing. No one will look for me here."

With a trembling breath, she shook her head. "No, they won't."

The Graverobber took his time, he knew he was going to play along with whatever this was but then, what fun would there be without watching her squirm a bit? "That sounds like something I could be interested in."

Her breath whistled past her lips. "Really?"

He chuckled softly. "Really, really. So for payment, what were you thinking? One vial per visit or...?"

Again with that frown. It was starting to bother him. He didn't like it. She did it far too often and usually because of something he said. "What?"

He mimicked her. "What?"

She nibbled on her lip, still confused. "One vial?"

Now he was confused. Did she want more?! Shit, he liked the girl, he couldn't deny it but Zydrate didn't grow on fucking trees! "You better throw in something extra for two, sweetheart!"

It took a minute for what he said to sink in, for both of them really and when she finally responded, it wasn't what he had been expecting. "What? No! I don't want any Zydrate."

It was his turn for his forehead to wrinkle. "Okay. Well. That doesn't leave me with many options then. Sex or money." The stunned speechlessness was what he had been going for but the bright blushing and the nervous lip biting? Those were just bonuses. He waggled his eyebrows at her and almost, almost squealed with glee at the way her blush deepened and spread down her chest. Thankfully, he contained himself. If only just. "I gotta tell you, Shi, I don't really carry a lot of money on me."

The 'eep' she gave him was priceless and he really did laugh out loud.

"I want your company."

He deadpanned. "I was kind of kidding about the sex, kid."

She shook her head. "No! I mean company, just a visit! You know, someone to talk to..."

The vulnerability in her voice tugged at heartstrings he didn't even know he still had. She looked so fragile, so young. He wished, not for the first time, that things had gone differently for her. Hell, maybe she should have taken old Rotti up on his offer to run Genco. "I can do that."

"You mean it?" She asked with such excitement and hope he actually had to look away. He was a bad guy. He should tell her no and leave forever. He wasn't the kind of person someone like her should get messed up with. But then, she had unlocked that door. Literally.

"It's a deal for me, if it's a deal for you."

"Just one more thing. No one else. You cannot bring 'work' here. This is a safe place. Yeah?"

"Deal." He held his hand out and she slipped hers inside it. He grinned again. "So, what kind of movies do you have in this joint?"

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